Combined package rack and air duct



y 1941- D. E. AUSTIN I 2,250,619

COMBINED PACKAGE RACK AND AIR DUCT Filed May 1, 1939 3 Sheets-Sheet 1 I l l 3nnentor By A fly y 29, 1941- D. E. AUSTIN 2,250,619

I I COMBINED PACKAGE RACK AND AIR DUCT Filed May 1, 1959 3 Sheets-Sheet 2 55 f d) 5 45 I 25 I .10 I

49 52 2 ii I III .I I I I I m 27 I 2! 44 -I 53' I I 444 5- I 44 s #2 5i II I I y 1941- D. E. AUSTIN 2,250,619

- comsnmn PACKAGE RACK AND -'AIR DUCT Filed May 1, 1939' s Sheets-Shet z 3 45 .1 44 t; 44 ?i7 l Z5 7* 8 'iiiiiiiiiiiiiiiifiiii:Iiiiii: 1 24 I I l v I V g W attorneys piem-d was, 194 5 i 2,250,619

.UNITED STATES PATENT- OFFICE commmn memos aacx AND am'nuc'r Dwight E. Austin, Pontiac, Mich assignor to Yellow Truck & Coach Manufacturing Company, Pontiac, Mich, a corporation of Maine Application May 1, 1939, Serial No. 271,116

7 4 Claims. (Cl. 98-2) This invention relates to air conditioned pas- The coach body illustrated includes a pair of senger conveyances and among other things it is side walls I and 2, a roof 3 and a bottom wall, 4,

directed toward increased passenger. comfort together with a raised passenger seating deck or and convenience and the presentation of a neat floor 5. The wheel'housing 6-5 in the side and pleasing interior appearance. 5 walls project upwardly a slight distance above One of the objects of the invention is to comthe level of the seating deck 5 but are so small bine in a single assembly a package rack and an as not to interfere with'seating arrangements or air duct for the distribution of conditioned air cause crowding of passengers occupying the seats throughout the passenger compartment. The 1 arranged on both sides of a central aisle. In

' rack and duct assembly is so designed as to be of 10 passing it may be noted that th observation light weight with built-in strength for loads to windows as seen in-Flgure 1 comprise a pair of be carried and furthermore it is constructed as glass 98 3 having d- 8411' Sp ce be wee an integral part of the body side wall serving in them for heat insulation purposes. a measure to stiffen the body but more particu- In the space between the bottomwall 4 and the larly blending smoothly into the general overall raised deck 5 there may be positioned the vehicle appearance without interference to passenger driving mechanism or power plant which preferspace accommodation. ably is located adjacent the rear wall and behind A further object is to provide for the distributhe driving axle. Forward of the driving axle tion of conditioned air throughout the coach and the underfloor space may be utilized for luggage the direction thereof both over the coach winlockers for stowing trunks, handbags and other dows to avoid moisture collection and impaired bulky baggage. In addition a part of the air vision and toward the region of passenger occuconditioning mechanism may be housed under pancy. In connection with the distribution and the floor, including suitable air circulating blowdirection of air the combined rack and duct asers or fans, filters, air heaters and air coolers, all

. sembly along each side wall has twosets of disof which form no part of the present invention charge openings, one located along the outermost and, therefore, need not be illustrated. The edge of the assembly and above the side wall drawings do show, however, the location of a repassenger seats and the other set along the in-, frigerant compressor 8 and its driving engine I0, nermost edge of the duct above the seats adjoinwhich parts preferably are removablymounted in ing the aisle. The last mentioned outlets are the underfloor space to reduce dead load when concealed behind and open into a channel formed the vehicle is Operated in the wintertime or by a protection'guard extending along the inner throughout the season when cooling and ded e of the assembly and also projecting above humidifying is' not required for passenger comand affording a parcel retaining fiange for the fort. It will be understood that the cooling coll, package shelf. filter and heater are located within an underfloor Additional objects and advantages of the conair duct which extends throughout the length struction will be apparent from the following of the vehicle along the center line and has suitspecification having reference to a preferred emable exhaust openings through the floor for evacbodiment of the-invention as disclosed in the aeuating air inside the coach and passing it over companying drawings wherein Figure 1 is a 0 the conditioning devices.

transverse sectional view of a motor coach at the At its front end the duct delivers conditioned front end of the coach body; Figure 2 is .an enair into a pair of laterally extending branches ll larged fragmentary elevational view ofthe packand I! which lead toward the side walls for conage rack assembly as viewed in the direction of nection with the vertical risers i3 and I4, respec- .the arrows on line 2-2 of Figure 1 with parts tively. The riser I3 is located immediately bebroken away: Figures 3 and 4 are transverse sechind the entrance openin in the front of the Vetional views taken on lines 3-! and 4-4, rehicle and has an offset at its lower end to clear spectively, of Figure 2: Figure 5 is a detail view the adjacent wheel well 6. On the other hand the of a portion of the underside of the assembly as riser It extends upwardly from Just ahead of the viewed in the direction of the arrows on line 5-5 adjacent wheel well 6 and occupies the space beof Figure 4; Figure 6 shows a portion of the side the operator's seat l5 against the sidewall coach interior adjacent the operator's station at 25 Both risers l nd I4 t ir upp r s p n the front of the vehicle and Figures 7 and 8 are rearwardly into hollow box-like assemblies which 1 detail sectional views taken on lines 1-4 and constitute. racks for small parcels, articles of M, respectively, of Figure 6. clothing and the like and which extend rearwardly to and across the rear wall of the vehicle above the windows 8 and over the heads of passengers occupying the side wall seats. Similarly both risers communicate with forwardly extending ducts, each of which terminates in an open mouth at the upper and outer corner of the window IS in the coach front. wall, as seen in Figure 6, so as to direct air over the interior surface of the windshield and thereby prevent fogging on the inside and the collection of ice on the outside of the windshield glass.

The forwardly extending ducts are similar to each other and may comprise a curved bottom wall l1 secured at its lower end to an interior wall panel l8 and at its upper end to a top wall or ledge l9, which also is secured at its outer edge to the panel l8. A series of fastening screws 28 secure together the adjacent edges of the walls l1 and i9 and serve to mount the lateral attaching flange 2| of a vertical guard rail 22 which carries on its inner face a series of hollow rubber cylinders or tubular buffers 23 acting as cushions to reduce the likelihood of injury in the event a person bumps against the assembly. It-will be noted that the guard rail, or mounting plate 22 extends upwardly above the ledge l9 and, therefore, provides a retaining wall for any articles which may be laid on the ledge l9. This shelf at the driver's station can be used primarily for the convenience of the operator. Extending downwardly and forwardly from the front end of the curved plate I1 is an inwardly bowed member 24 having attaching flanges along opposite sides for connection with the interior wall panel l8 to provide a passageway which as before indicated discharges air over the interior surface of the windshield l8.

The package rack assembly extending along both side walls and across the rear wall of the vehicle with its hollow interior communicating at the front with both of the risers l3 and I4 is constructed, as best seen in the sectional view Figure 4, of light weight sheet metal panels which are secured together to form a hollow duct and are internally braced for strengthening purposes. It is carried by the several body posts below the roof and its upper ortop wall 25 provides a shelf for the convenience of the passengers in disposing primarily of small packages, articles of clothing and the like.

At its outer edge the upper wall 25 terminates in an upwardly extending flange to be secured by rivets 25 or the like to the upper portion of a curved outer wall plate 21. At intervals in alignment with each of the several body post 28 a fastening stud 28 passes through the joined portions of the walls 25 and 21 and through an angle bracket 30 carried thereby for mounting the rack to a supporting bracket 3| on the body post 28. Along a central line the top wall 25 has riveted thereto a series of dependent supporting plates 32 which, as seen in Figure 2, have a series of large openings 33 therein for the free movement of air from one side to the other of the dependent plates 32.

The bottom edge of the support 32 is riveted or otherwise secured to the inner edge of a lower wall section 34 which extends outwardly and has its outer edge riveted to a lower intermediate portion of the side plate 21. It also carries a series of spaced angle brackets 35 to be attached by bolts 36 to a supporting bracket 31 on the post 28. Intermediate its inner and outer edges the lower wall section 34 is reversely bent upon itself as at 38 to provide an open longitudinal channel for the reception of the innermost edge of a curved corner plate 39 which extends downwardly and is riveted or otherwise secured at its lower end to the lower edge of the side wall 21. For appearance purposes a decorative molding strip 48 may be carried by the joined lower edges of the assembly. As best seen in Figure 5 the curved corner plate 39 is provided with spaced rows of narrow slits 4| for the distribution of air from the hollow duct downwardly toward the region occupied by passengers in the seats adjacent the body side wall. To regulate the passage of air downwardly and-through the distribution slots 4|, the bottom wall 34 behind the curved corner plate 39 and between the reverse bend 38 and the attachment brackets 35, may be provided with metering openings or perforations 42 of preselected size and spacing.

At its innermost edge adjacent its connection with the supporting plate 32, the bottom wall section 34 is provided with a second reversely bent portion 43 to provide a longitudinally extending channel for the reception of the outer edge of a bottom and inner sidewall panel 44. The major portion of the wall 44 extends upwardly and inwardly in alignment with and as a continuation of the wall section 34 and its side wall portion comprises an upwardly curved bead 44a and an outwardly offset portion 44b for connection at its upper end by the fastening screws 45 to the inner edge of the top wall 25. To insure a firm anchorage of the screws 45 a metal tapping strip 46 is fitted against the underside of the attaching flange of the wall 44b. Here again the fastening screws 45 hold in place the lateral anchoring flange of the buffer rail 41 which carries the hollow rubber cylinders or tubes 48 on its outer face and projects upwardly above the plane of the shelf 25 for retaining parcels thereon. It also projects downwardly in spaced relation to the offset side wall 441) and forms a downwardly directed channel for delivering conditioned air toward the region of the passengers occupying the aisle seats 1. Communication with the interior of the duct is aiforded by a series of air regulating openings 49 contained within the upper portion of the wall 44b and concealed beliind the buffer rail 41.

To impart stiffness to the light weight panel assembly and insure proper support of the load,

diagonal braces'in the form of substantially Z-.

. ing leg 58. a downwardly and inwardly extending brace 5| and an upwardly and inwardly extending brace 52. The braces 5| and 52 are secured at their apex by a series of rivets 53 to the inner edge of the lower wall section 34 while the braces 50 and 5| are secured at their apex by rivets 54 to the mounting bracket 30. The fastening rivets 55 secure the lower end of the brace 50 to an intermediate portion of the wall 34 and rivets 56 secure the inner end of the brace 52 to the inner end portion of the upper wall 25. By reason of the diagonal bracing, racking strains are resisted and the load is effectually transmitted into the body side walls, the body side walls being in turn stiffened by the inwardly extending package rack assembly.

The several wall panels of the assembly may extend continuously in one piece throughout the length of the duct, although for convenience of manufacture it will be preferable to use a series of relatively long panel sections arranged end to end with the abutting ends Joined together and sealed by welding or soldering. Optionally, in

stead of rigidly joining the adjoining ends of the panels their adjacent edges may be simply brought close together and sealed by a rubber joint strip, which as shown at 51 is of H-shape in section to fit the edges of the panels. The use of the rubberjoining strip 51 will facilitate replacement of panel sections in the event ,of dam- In the operation of the air conditioning system the air circulating blowers will draw air from the inside of the coach into the longitudinally extending underfloor duct for 'actionthereon by the conditioning mechanism and subsequent delivery through the risers into the'longitudinally extending ducts from which the conditioned air .is distributed throughout the interior of the ve:

audits opposite longitudinal edge secured to the bottom of said side wall, a spacer strut connect- .ing the inner edge of the lower wall section with v head racks in spaced relation with the coach ceilhicle toward the region of passenger occupancy and over the window surfaces.

I claim:

1. In a passenger coach, a hollow structure projecting inwardly above the passenger seats the structure with a portion projecting above the upper wall as a package retaining flange and awith its upper wall providing a package shelf, a protection guard supported at the inner side of portion projecting downwardly in spaced relation with the inner wall of the hollow structure to afford an air distribution channel and air flow regulating openings in said inner wall and behind said protection guard for admitting air from s the hollow structure into the distribution channel.

2.'A combined package rack and air duct assembly; including a package supporting upper wall, an outer side wall secured at its upper edge to the outer edge of the upper wall, a'lower wall portion projecting outwardly from the outermost v the lower narrow wall and extending divergently bend and being secured to an intermediate portion of said side wall, a curved corner -plate overlying said perforate portion and having air distributing openings therein with one longitudinal edge fitted into the channel of outermost ing to provide parcel receiving room, both of said racks being hollow and thereby constituting combined parcel racks and air'ducts with the forwardly extending duct bridging the operator station and terminating adjacent the windshield in a discharge mouth for directing air flow across the windshield surface and the rearwardly extending duct having spaced air distribution openings therein and-an air delivery riser leading upwardly beside the operator station to .both ducts. 4. A combined air duct and package shelf arranged as a structural stiffening member for coach side wall body posts and comprising a relatively wide package supporting wall mounted at its outer longitudinal edge on the body posts and a relatively narrow wall spaced below the first mentioned wall and also mounted at its outer longitudinal edge on the body posts, an outer side wall closure between the outer edges of the walls, tle suspension means connecting the inner longitudinal edge of the lower narrow wall with an intermediate portion of the upper wide wall. diagonal. trusses connectedto the inner edge of toward and connected to the inner and. outer longitudinal edges of the upper wide wall and an inner side wall closure connected at opposite edges with the inner longitudinal edges of the wide and the narrow walls.

DWIGHT AUSTIN. 

